The FBI has arrested five people it said are part of a white supremacist group that conspired to intimidate journalists and activists.
The Justice Department announced charges on Wednesday against 24-year-old Cameron Shea of Washington, Kaleb Cole, 24, of Texas, Taylor Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Texas, and 20-year-old Johnny Garza of Arizona. The four were charged in Seattle federal court with conspiracy to mail threatening communications and to commit cyberstalking. A fifth man, John Denton of Texas, was charged in Alexandria federal court.
According to court documents, the individuals were members of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen Division. Denton and Cole are the alleged leaders of Atomwaffen Division, a Nazi group that promotes anti-Semitism, racial cleansing, and violence.
Prosecutors said that Denton directed the group to harass a ProPublica reporter and call in a fake threat that caused authorities to storm his office in an overwhelming show of force, a tactic known as “swatting.” Members also allegedly told police the reporter had killed his wife and then provided his home address, prompting a similar response from law enforcement.
According to court documents, Cole and Shea came up with a plan called “Operation Erste Saule,” which targeted journalists for harassment and threats. “Erste saule” is German for “first pillar,” which the Shea named after “the first pillar of stat[e] power, aka the media.”
Cole allegedly used the encrypted communication service Wire to communicate messages to other Atomwaffen Division members. A transcript of an audio recording prosecutors said was posted to Wire from Cole is transcribed in the criminal complaint.
“The matter of these nosy reporters coming into our daily lives, where we work, where we live, where we go in our spare time,” the transcript reads. “We must simply approach them with nothing but pure aggression. We cannot let them think that they can just … that that it’s safe for them to just come up to us and f— with us.”
One person in the group urged others to target journalists for harassment using the Society of Professional Journalists, according to court documents. Garza allegedly participated in Operation Erste Saule by posting racist fliers at the homes of Jewish and black journalists in Arizona.
The FBI said it obtained some of the draft posters, which included swastikas and the words, “These people have names and addresses,” as well as, “You have been visited by your local Nazis.” Another poster featured a hooded skull and read, “Your actions have consequences.” Photos of the posters were included in court documents.
In October, authorities in Seattle used a red flag gun law to seize a cache of guns from Cole, although he was not charged at the time.
U.S. Attorney Brian Moran for the Western District of Washington said in a Wednesday statement that the arrests make it clear that prosecuting anti-Semitism is a top priority of the Justice Department.
“These defendants sought to spread fear and terror with threats delivered to the doorstep of those who are critical of their activities,” Moran said. “As Attorney General William Barr has made clear, rooting out anti-Semitic hate and threats of violence and vigorously prosecuting those responsible are top priorities for the Department of Justice.”
Last August, a Las Vegas man tied to the Atomwaffen Division was charged in federal court for possessing bomb-making materials. Authorities said he wanted to shoot up area synagogues and a gay bar.
